Frozen Shards
by A Castle of Glass
Summary: A moment in time. So valuable…So precious…What happens when the shards come crashing down? Who's left to pick up the pieces?
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Dew dripped from the leaves, shining brightly against the harsh light of the sun. The glory of life was apparent as rays crashed down onto the receivers beneath it. The lovers. Those who could not live were it not for the terrible beauty of the sun. Leaves trembled as a stale wind blew through. As if things were stuck in a bubble. An incredible stretch of land, but a bubble nonetheless. A bubble that was quarantining life itself. Grasping life in its cruel jaws and digging in to the weak spots. Reality was breaking. Piece by piece.

That was not yet apparent to the wildlife, as well the wind brought old scents and the days seemed to drone on into nothingness, everything was amiable for the lifeforms that prowled the forest. Stuck in a state of peace – it was ataraxic, as one might say. The occasional glitch in the matrix of life proved ineffective in persuading those residents of life's impending dangers. Not many would be able to see it coming, even if they wanted to.

A moment in time can contain hundreds of births and deaths, sometimes thousands. Fate can be burned and destroyed, while others meet their destiny. Many meet their maker. Of course, as is the way of things, these moments are rarely regarded with sincerity. Why should one care about a moment in time? For what may occur in a moment may be irrelevant in the very next. It is easy to take such moments for granted.

We are all made up of what ends us: time. Time follows us through the paths we walk. Time governs us, and yet we give it no worship, not acknowledgement. As is the way of life. For if time were to be acknowledged, what point is there in living? Who wants to appreciate what merely ends up snuffing their sparks out?

Time is wretched. Time is furious, and yet, through all that one must fight through, time accompanies us. Time is our guardian, our protector, and time is indiscriminate when it comes to those who need protecting.

Though time seems immortal, one must know of the powerful phrase, "All good things must come to an end." However, this implies that time must exist, for what can end without time? What if I were to tell you that this statement is incomplete? What if I were to say that in the little bubble of life, time was dying? Would you agree? I doubt it, for time is imminent, is it not? How could such a void be left in life? What would fill it?

Well now, my friends, it is time to tell you a story. The time it takes to tell is irrelevant, for time is not at stake, but what if I were to tell you that in the past, time itself was in jeopardy? What if I told you that at one point in time, only shards remained of our world? What if I told you a story of dimensions? Of blind trust? Of inner strength and courage?

What if I told that you that time was destroyed for good and brought back into our realm, in a very simple moment in time?

* * *

The earth trembled, or at least, what was left to tremble. A small group of cats were pelting their way through the burgeoning wilderness, hastened by the imminent doom that awaited them. Their paws slammed against the dirt, scaring away what precious lifeforms remained. A bird was standing at the edge of a tree branch, a fine tree branch, thick and smooth.

Regardless of its pure qualities, that could not distract from the tree from where the branch originated. It was gone, replaced by shimmering crystals. They shined welcomingly at the travelers, almost begging for them to take a rest. To sink into the embrace of the tree's corpse.

The cats shook their heads and kept pounding their way deeper into the forest, urgency allowing blistering speed to advance them further. The situation was at the brink, the brink of the end, or the brink of the lack of an end. Perhaps one could say that a split second would decide their fate; however there were soon to be no more seconds to split.

The air around them was losing its fiber. The fiber of vitality and love that kept the world from dying. The fiber that also kept the cats from dying as well. The air itself was shimmering, as if they didn't really exist. If one peered carefully into the sky, one could see pinpricks poked high into the sky. Areas where time had gone for good.

The cats kept going though, for they did not have much time left. Time itself was in limited quantities. It was becoming a scarcity, one that could not be stopped. If the cats were to fail, then time would cease to exist, as would the world as we know it. The shards of our world are not meant to be spread into oblivion.

One might notice that at that point in time, time was dying. The pinpricks were getting larger, the patches of crystal growing into oceans and seas of crystal. Life embraced these crystals, for if they had no time to protect them, what else was there to do?

There was only one place that could fix this, and only a few cats that could fix this, and those very same cats were getting close to their destination. They were the ones who were going to save time. Or at least, the ideal situation was as such.

What was not planned for was what would happen if their way was blocked. They arrived at their location, gasping for breath, only to find a terrible sight. Shards had been broken, there was little but an abyss surrounding the location. The cats knew they were doomed, for how were they to reach the location now?

"It is done," the largest tom murmured, staring intensely at the location before them, "We are done."

He was right. Their path towards redemption had vanished. Their lives were all too likely soon to follow.

For who can control the frozen shards that were beginning to destroy time? What powerful being would be cunning enough to reach the location of redemption? What being would even think of such a crazy thought?

It was over. Time had been destroyed for good.


	2. At the Dawn of Time

**At the Dawn of Time:**

From the beginning, there was something very exceptional about a kit who appeared so much the opposite. A kit who could hardly grab the attention of an audience if she tried. She was not one to break the rules (or at least, the Clan rules), and she could never distance herself from an eventful moment. Moments in time, if you will.

Let's start from her beginning, as with your typical story. Our little kit was born the sister of two others, one tom and one she-kit. She had quite the striking pelt, as did her brother. Both were a bright shade of white, well-fit to the snow that laid upon the ground at the time of their birth. Their sister, although just as lovely as the other two, was more of a light shade of silver-gray. Both of the white kits had magnificent white eyes, while the other she-kit had shimmering eyes of a forest-green color.

The tom was named Skykit, and the sister was named Silverkit; however, the mother could not pick a name for the last little one. As she was deciding her name, a wonderful animal flew into the den, chased in by two frolicking kits. The queen smiled and decided that she thought Mothkit would be a wonderful name, because her little snowy daughter would one day emerge from her chrysalis and fly off, a beautiful moth. Though the queen certainly thought all of her kits were more beautiful than any moth she had ever seen. She pulled them in close. They were all she had left since their father had been part of a patrol; a patrol that was ambushed by a ThunderClan patrol.

The kits did not know of that though, for their only concern at that moment was their own sustenance. So they did what all kits do: they made their way to their mother's belly, mewling for milk. The mother purred and complied with their relentless cries.

While the kits fed, the two kits who had wandered in asked what one might expect for one so in need of a way to release energy. What they asked was, "When can they play?" The older kits' mother came walking in at that moment, shaking her head and sighing, but allowed the new mother to reply.

"Why, they won't even be peeking their heads outside until they can see and hear and walk!" The mother responded, smiling at her kits, whose ears were slicked back in such a wonderful fashion that she herself could almost drown in her own bliss. For a moment in time she could simply enjoy a moment of pure peace. It was a moment in which nothing could make her feel any less happy than she felt at one moment, even if she had no mate to share the moment with.

She would not take this moment in time for granted.

* * *

Mothkit knew from the moment that she opened her eyes that the world was not exactly what she expected it would be. All she had known up to that moment had been her mother, her siblings, her nest, and the sounds of other cats coming and going. However, upon seeing for the first time, she could clearly see that this was not all. The room before her stretched wide and tall, taller than she could ever reach, even if she jumped. The den was giant!

She immediately turned and nosed who she could scent to be her brother, Skykit, who squirmed under her touched and flattened his little ears. He did not want to get up. Undeterred, she chirped, "Get up Skykit! You need to open your eyes!"

"Why should I," the young white tom slurred, "I wanna sleep." Rolling her eyes, Mothkit unsheathed her kitten claws and poked them into the soft vulnerable stomach of her brother, her whiskers twitching. She burst out in a laugh as her brother yelped and quickly spread his eyelids apart. She could see annoyance in his striking blue eyes immediately fade into wonder. "Wow," he breathed. He quickly turned to Silverkit and was about to poke her when the she-kit lifted her head up.

"Finally," she mewed, "I've been waiting since sun-high yesterday for you two to open your eyes! Come on! Harekit and Thrushkit said they'd show us around the camp if we were ready!" The other two siblings turned to each other and blinked, but shrugged and followed the suddenly energetic Silverkit out into the main camp.

Mothkit felt somewhat dizzy. It may have felt large in the den but everything was extraordinarily large out here. There was a giant blue roof over the camp too, with white splotches every here and there that was the same color as her pelt. When she pointed this out to Silverkit, the she-kit rolled her eyes, nudging her sister, "That's the sky, rabbit-brain."

Mothkit blinked. That was the sky? Why was Skykit named after it if Skykit wasn't blue at all? She shook her head. She didn't really understand much of what was going on, was she?

There were many cats flitting around the camp, but none of them were close enough to appear to be a threat. She wondered where their mother was. She sometimes went out on morning walks, but she wasn't in camp. Was there actually more space outside of camp? How is that possible?

Silverkit took them to two giant toms. Mothkit's head wasn't near either of their shoulders. Were these two really kits? "We're all ready for your tour Harekit!" Silverkit squeaked, an oddly admiring gaze in her glimmering eyes.

Harekit chuckled, "It certainly looks like it! Where do you guys want to go first? The elder's den? Warrior's? Apprentice's?" While the tom spoke, his brother Thrushkit was glancing around, restless.

"Oh! Our mom said the elders tell stories!" Skykit exclaimed, "Can we start there?"

Harekit rolled his eyes, "I mean, they do have stories. It's just that if you go there too often they get old. It's your first time though, so we'll head on down." He gestured to his silent brother and Thrushkit immediately began quickly walking towards another den, with the four other right behind. Once they reached the den, the two older kits slipped in, beckoning the younger ones.

Mothkit let out a little gasp as they entered the den, because the cats that stood before her were much larger than even Thrushkit and Harekit! Would she become even close to that size one day? She also noticed that the elder's fur was speckled with white, and their eyes seemed fuller of knowledge than the kits, as if their eyes were a pool of endless wisdom.

"Well well well!" One of the two elders exclaimed (both were she-cats), "So are you Ambershade's kits? You are a beautiful litter, aren't you? You three finally opened your eyes!" Mothkit ducked her head in embarrassment. How long had the Clan been waiting for them!

While she was thinking about this to herself, Silverkit regally lifted her head up and stepped forward, replying, "We came out only when we were ready." This caused the elder to purr.

The other elder glanced at Thrushkit and Harekit, asking, "Did you bring them here to hear a story or just to meet us?"

Harekit smiled, "They were interested in the idea of being told a story, so I brought them over. Would that be too much of a bother?"

The first elder laughed, "Oh no, sweetheart, we enjoy our company." Turning to the younger kits, she continued, "Now before we start any story, my name is Palefoot and my fellow storyteller here is the grump known as Prickleberry."

A moment later, after the three kits shifted closer together in anticipation, Palefoot began, "So have any of you heard of the old home of the Clans?" They shook their heads no in confusion. Hadn't they always lived here?

And so, the elders began weaving a tale, a tale of magical creatures called badgers and prophecies from StarClan. They told of hidden mountain tribes and a hard journey, and soon enough, Mothkit found herself fighting to keep her eyes open.

And then, a moment later, she had fallen asleep.

She couldn't wait to come back to hear more.


	3. The Spoils of War

**The Spoils of War**

When Mothkit woke up, her surroundings confused her. She was in the middle of the forest, in thick undergrowth. Large brambles surrounded her, and a path lay before her. She had nowhere else to go, so she nervously followed the path before her. Where was she? Where were her littermates? What had happened?

She was beginning to grow quite terrified. The scents around her were unfamiliar and the whole place held a bitter scent, as if there was just something bad in the air itself. Wherever she was, she shouldn't be here.

She soon found herself coming upon a clearing, empty save for some small grasses. The bitter scent was growing stronger. Mothkit let out a whimper. Her legs were growing tired. She wanted to go back home to her family!

Suddenly, a white mist began to fill the clearing, causing the young kit to cough. What was going on? Her question was answered when two glowing eyes appeared in the mist. It was some sort of creature. It was some sort of ghostly figure, and it quickly curled around Mothkit. It was the coldest feeling she had ever experienced.

The cold was nothing though, for a moment later, the creature took a turn to the scary. Mothkit felt a sudden and painful pressure in her mind, pressing her down, squeezing her until she could hardly think. It was the creature oddly enough. She could feel it. She could feel its tendrils pulling her mind closer, getting ready to squeeze the life out of it.

She couldn't though. She couldn't let it win. She didn't belong here! She had to get home!

A scary sort of determination overtook her, and she began to fight back. It was as if her mind itself began to grow. She pushed back. The pain slowly began to subside, but then the creature intensified its efforts, and the pain grew worse than she'd ever felt. She could feel herself fading from consciousness. The pain was growing to be too much.

Feeling herself losing it, Mothkit let out an ear-splitting caterwaul. She collapsed, her eyes closed; however, the pain was gone. After lying on the ground for a little bit, she managed to open her eyes. The mist was gone. The creature had disappeared. She was safe. She sighed, her little body curled up. She still felt cold. Whimpering, she closed her eyes again.

After what felt like forever, she heard something padding over. She couldn't believe it. She was too weak now. She couldn't do anything to defend herself now.

She didn't need to though. It was cat. She knew when the cat sat down and began grooming the young kit, warming her up. "It's alright, little one," The strange tom whispered, "You performed admirably. You're safe. Time for you to go back home."

And then, it all faded away

* * *

Mothkit woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed, as if she had just taken a nice sweet drink from the lake. Had any of that been real? It had felt so terrifyingly real. And the pain certainly felt real. What kind of dream allows the dreamer to feel such real pain?

She stared at her surroundings reflecting on last night when she suddenly heard her mother shift and rest her nose on Mothkit's flank.

"Are you alright my little moth?" Ambershade murmured, "You were mewling in your sleep. Nightmares?" Her mother's scent filled Mothkit's nose with scents of the moor. Their mother must have recently come back from her morning walk. Maybe one day they could all walk together and bask in the rising sun.

"Yeah," She whispered, looking up at her mother with big, innocent eyes. It had to have been a dream. Why else would she be here now, and not in that scary forest?

"Oh, well that's certainly not good, "Her mother replied, "Would you like to talk about it before Skykit and Silverkit get up?"

Mothkit thought about it for a moment. Would she really want to worry her mother over something as ordinary as a dream? It may have been a nightmare, but that was all it was. A nightmare. Nothing more, nothing less. She could stand to keep it to herself. "I can't really remember it," She lied, her tail twitching.

Ambershade smiled, "That's great. Now how about you go congratulate Thrushkit and Harekit before sunhigh?" Mothkit blinked. Congratulate them? For what? Showing them the elder's den? Noticing the little she-kit's confusion, her mother added, "The two of them are becoming apprentices today. They may only be 5 moons old but Russetstar needs 'paws for the fight against ThunderClan."

"Wow," Mothkit breathed, "Could we be apprentices now? I'm sure us three combined could take down one of those mangy ThunderClan warriors!"

Ambershade purred and licked Mothkit's cheek, "Of course sweetheart. Now run along outside. Thrushkit and Harekit are outside right now. Stick with them or a warrior, okay? I don't want you running off!"

"I won't," Mothkit promised, "Send Skykit and Silverkit out when they wake up!" She ran out of the nursery excited. She was going to be able to see her first ceremony today! She immediately saw the two older kits sharing tongues over to the side. She padded over, her eyes glimmering. "Hiya!" She chirped, her eyes large.

Thrushkit blinked at her, while Harekit rolled his eyes, amused. "Where are your littermates?"

"They're still asleep!" Mothkit replied, "Ambershade told me I could come out if I went with you guys!" Taking a quick look at the two kits, she mewed, "Are you two really going to become apprentices?" Her eyes were a bit dreamy at the thought of apprenticeship.

"Apparently so!" Harekit replied, suppressing a purr, "I'm sure you three will be right behind us!"

Mothkit was about to reply when Thrushkit mewed, "Are you sure about all of this, Harekit?" Mothkit was stunned. She had never heard Thrushkit speak before. What was he talking about?

Harekit seemed just as perplexed. "About what Thrushkit? We're getting what we've been waiting for the past five moons, aren't we?" His eyes were suddenly wary as he glanced at his normally stoic brother.

"That's the thing though, isn't it?" Thrushkit retorted, "We're certainly underaged, probably immature, and definitely not in shape for a vicious battle against bloodthirsty ThunderClan warriors! What are we getting ourselves into?"

Mothkit's mouth went ajar. Was Thrushkit contemplating refusing his apprenticeship? Was he being serious? The two of them were both nearly the size of a typical apprentice. Surely they would be adequate, right?

Harekit glared at his brother, "So what, are you going to abandon and join the medicine cats?"

The tom shook his head, "I'm not disloyal. I'll accept the apprenticeship. I'm just hoping we don't get killed before we even reach our sixth moon."

Harekit growled under his breath, "This is not the time or the place to be speaking of death! Certainly not in the presence of one of Ambershade's kits!"

Thrushkit rolled his eyes, "They already will never see their father again. I'm sure they are at least vaguely knowledgeable about death."

Mothkit's eyes spread open. She had never thought about their father. Their mother had never spoken of him, neither had the other queens. She had just assumed it was someone who was shy of seeing them. Did she not have a father to see?

Harekit saw the revelations going through Mothkit's mind and turned on his brother, spitting, "For once, Thrushkit, I'm going to ask you to keep your mouth shut! Do you not know when to stop? Go away!" Thrushkit complied, shooting a sharp glance at a shivering Mothkit.

Harekit turned to Mothkit, a soft look in his eyes. "Are you alright?" He murmured. His tail ran over her flank, smoothing it where it had begun to bristle.

Mothkit simply replied with, "Did you ever meet him? What was his name?" She needed to know more about her father.

Harekit sighed, "I suppose we can talk about him. Yes, I did meet him quite a bit. Around the time your mother moved to the nursery, he came in every day with prey. He always played with us. His name was Frostfoot. He was named that because of his back left foot. It got crushed a big fall he had when he was a kit from what I heard. He was able to move around pretty well though. He caught most of the prey he brought in."

Mothkit frowned, "Why can't I meet him? Just for a moment? Why did he have to go?"

"I guess," Harekit replied, "ThunderClan felt like taking any possible moment you could have with him over a petty dispute. He's one of the reasons why I wanna fight, you know. The quicker this war is over, the less time will be spent killing each other, and I believe if I am taught well, I can help end it sooner."

Mothkit smiled weakly at the tom, "You know, I believe that you can. I really do." Harekit smiled back, happy that the conversation wasn't completely sad.

And for a moment the two felt like they could win any fight they stepped foot in.

For a moment they could take on anything ThunderClan had to throw at them.

And they would take on anything if it meant getting revenge for those lost.


	4. The Sage

**The Sage**

Mothkit woke up and stretched. There was an odd abundance of scents surrounding her? What was going on? Her eyes focused on her surroundings and her heart sunk.

She was back in the forest. Why? Did she do something wrong?

She glanced around her, noting that yet again there was only one path to follow. She sighed, her ears flattening. Why was this happening? She shook her head though. She had defeated one of these weird creatures before. She could do it again, right?

And so with that brief burst of confidence, she began moving her way throughout the forest, her tail twitching. The forest seemed the exact same as last time, but somehow she knew it was different this time. It was some sort of feeling. An odd feeling. She couldn't identify what it was, but she somehow knew that things would be different.

Eventually she came to a clearing. It was not the clearing from the previous night, that much was clear. This one was covered in shadows, and was easily twice the size of the last one. It held the same aura of displeasure she had felt when the creature had arrived. This time, she decided she would wait for it to show itself.

After a few moments of calm waiting the air trembled, and the fog immediately filled the clearing. However, something was different. There wasn't one pair of glowing eyes…

There were five pairs.

Mothkit's eyes widened, her previous confidence immediately wavering. This was trouble. She waited a moment, staring at the creatures, before she realized something. She could barely beat one of these creatures. How could she defeat five of them? She swiveled around and looked at her surroundings. The path appeared to continue on. Maybe these creatures wouldn't run after her.

She began running as hard as she could, feeling the cold caress of the fog following her. She ran as fast as she had ever ran before, but she wasn't gaining on the creatures. She was about to cry out when all of a sudden a shape jumped out of the forest as she ran past, landing in between Mothkit and the creatures.

Mothkit stopped and turned, surprised. Who was this cat? Why were they saving her?

However, once the wisps reached the cat, they seemed to calm. They slithered over the cat's fur, and yet the cat wasn't seeming to be in pain. It was as if he hardly felt them.

"Wisps," The tom mewed. It was the same tom from the last visit! "Very dangerous to the uninitiated, but little more than playthings for a more…experienced cat." The tom appeared to make some sort of signal, and the wisps flew away, the fog quickly dissipating.

"Wh-Who are you?" Mothkit stammered, her pelt bristling slightly. She knew the tom had found her during her last visit, but she didn't even know his name. He was the size of a warrior, but his face still held a noticeable hint of youth, as if he was still quite young for his size.

He smiled. It was a very warm smile, "Let's just say my name is Sage." His eyes were a shimmering green, much like Silverkit's. She could tell why his name was Sage. "What is your name, little one?" He asked, his tail smoothing down her fur.

Mothkit sighed, before reluctantly replying, "My name is Mothkit."

"Mothkit?" Sage queried, "What kind of name is that? You look nothing like a moth, and why add that meaningless ending. You are fairly clearly a kit. Isn't that suffix quite redundant?"

Mothkit's pelt started to bristle again, "My mother chose my name, and it is a great name!" She took a step or two back.

"Sure, sure," Sage reassured, "However, I think I will call you Hail." Mothkit blinked, not understanding. Why was he 'naming' her? She didn't belong to him!

She let her fur settle though. This cat had just saved her. She could stand to be a little bit more grateful. "Thanks, I guess," She murmured.

Sage smiled, but was silent for a few moments. After the pause, he remarked, "You know, I'm quite impressed with how you handled yourself today."

Mothkit blinked, "How? I ran away from some wisps! How is that impressive?" She certainly wouldn't call it impressive if she were Sage. Smart, maybe, but more cowardly than impressive.

He rolled his eyes, "Don't be overly modest. You defeated that creature at your last visit, and yet when faced the same creatures, you did not become overconfident. You thought tactically. You didn't let your emotions freeze you, and you didn't blindly attempt to defeat the wisps. In fact, you being able to defeat even one wisp is quite commendable on its own. Be proud of yourself."

Mothkit pawed the ground, feeling a bit embarrassed at this strange tom's compliments. Suddenly though, her mind turned to something else. "Where are we?" She asked, staring into Sage's eyes.

"To be honest?" Sage replied, "I'm not sure it has a name. I simply call it the Silver Forest, although I'm sure other cats would call it different names."

"The Silver Forest?" Mothkit echoed in wonder. She had no clue why he called it that, but she could just feel within her that it fit. It was that same odd feeling she had felt earlier. What was up with her? Was this odd place making her feel weird?

One more thought occurred to her, and she frowned, "Why exactly am I here?" What was the purpose of this forest? Were there Clans here, or was this just all in her imagination?

Sage's eyes darkened a little, "I suppose you could say that the forest likes you. It can sense something in you. I've been coming here for many moons and I still do not know what it wants us for. There's nothing to truly do here. No purpose." His face shifted a little, and a little smile broke through, "Well, actually, there is a bit of a purpose, but we'll talk about that on a later visit."

Mothkit frowned. What was he keeping from her? However, she knew she had to stick with him. She knew nothing of these parts. "How long will I be here?"

Sage's smile grew, "Oh little one, you just reminded me. It's time for you to return to your nest."

Mothkit shook her head, whining, "No! Tell me more!" Her vision slowly began to fade against her will, and soon the darkness overwhelmed her.

Her visit was over, but things were starting to get interesting.


	5. Typhos I

**Typhos Pt. 1**

It was a lot more boring than Mothkit had ever expected. Being the only litter in the nursery, that is. While she certainly had her siblings, playing with the same two kits for the past two moons had grown tiresome. She wanted to explore the world.

What made it even worse was that she hadn't been able to visit the Silver Forest since she had first met Sage. She was beginning to grow unsure if any of it had been real. Would that be such a surprise? A young kit with an overactive imagination?

Surely that couldn't be true. She still could remember the pain of her first encounter with the wisps, and the terror of running from the pack of the creatures. The feelings had been so real. It can't have been a dream.

What she did know, though, was that she had nothing to do, and nowhere to go. Her littermates had not woken up yet, and all the apprentices had gone out training. In fact, only a few cats were lying around the camp. The warriors and apprentices were essentially nowhere to be seen.

If only Thrushpaw and Harepaw could've been there. They still visited the nursery occasionally, showing off moves they'd learned and battle scars from fights with ThunderClan, though Thrushpaw himself was much more reserved when it came to that. She had already glanced in their den though. It was completely empty.

She sighed. Maybe she would have to take matters into her own paws. If she was careful enough, she would be able to get onto the moor. Surely there would be something out there, right?

Mothkit immediately slipped into the shadows around the sides of the camp, hoping her white pelt wouldn't destroy her chances of escaping. At least if someone caught her now, she could just say she was pretending to sneak up on some ThunderClan warriors. Thankfully though, the cat who was guarding the camp at the moment, whose name was Hawkclaw, was quickly padding over towards the fresh-kill pile to snatch something from the pile. She had her chance.

She took the chance, swiftly exiting the camp and immediately finding herself overwhelmed by the scale of what was around her. She had thought the camp was quite large, but this was on another level. While the camp had definite borders, the moors stretched on, and where the moors faded, different stretches of land followed. It seemed as if it never ended. Did it even end? She could almost imagine herself walking the lands, discovering new things.

She shook her head. She could never leave WindClan. How would her mother feel if she just disappeared? Disappeared forever?

Mothkit began walking, not knowing exactly where she was going, except that she could definitely see some trees in the distance. Maybe there would be something interesting there for her to do. She wondered what it was like to be in an actual forest. She knew of the Silver Forest, but were any real forests like that? Full of undergrowth, with the canopies so covered by branches and leaves that the sun is barely visible?

She saw a few cats in the distance on the moor and wondered who they were. Could that be Harepaw, going after the animals that gave him his name? Perhaps Russetstar was on a walk, taking in the vast expanses of moor that she ruled over. She wondered what it was like to be a leader. To have dozens of cats obey your every order.

Mothkit sighed. She needed something to do. She was grateful when she finally reached the forests. It had felt like forever since she had started out, and her legs were very tired. She wondered if the Clan had noticed her disappearance yet, or if they were still calmly sleeping. Hopefully she wouldn't be too harshly punished.

Suddenly, a few moments after she stepped into the forest, a voice calmly spoke out, "Well, well, well, if it isn't a little lost WindClan kit." Two toms stepped out of the undergrowth. Both were clearly very strong. You could see the muscles rippling under their pelt. Mothkit shivered. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. The two toms didn't look very friendly.

One of the two toms, the younger of the two, stepped forward and padded up to Mothkit, sniffing her. "Smells of the nursery," He commented, "Just a lost rabbit-brain. Shall we take her back to camp?"

The older of the two didn't reply though, frowning. He stared at the young kit intensely, not saying a word. Mothkit shrunk back. She didn't have a good feeling about this. What was he thinking so hard about? Killing her?

"Typhos," The older one murmured, his eyes widening, "Typhos lives!" The younger cat's eyes lit up with sudden wariness as well, and he backed away from the kit.

"What shall we do?" The younger one asked, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"We always knew this day would come," He replied, "It was simply a matter of waiting." Motioning to the kit, he mewed, "Follow me, young moor-runner." And so she did. What choice did she even have in the matter?

As they walked, she nervously asked, "Who's Typhos? What does Typhos have to do with me?" Had she done something wrong? She didn't know anyone by the name Typhos.

"It's not necessarily who," The younger one replied, "But what." He glanced back at her, "The name is Thornheart. The old grouch here is Brownfoot." He turned his head back around. He appeared to be bracing his body for something. What was he doing?

Mothkit was about to ask if something was wrong when she felt as if her body was being split in two. She cried out in pain, until suddenly it all went away. They still appeared to be in a forest, but something felt…off. The trees weren't quite this tall before, and there certainly seemed to be a more foreboding aura surrounding them. In fact, as she glanced at the toms, she noticed that they had changed too! The one who was walking where Thornheart had been had gone from a tabby to almost as ginger as Russetstar. Brownfoot, on the other hand, was now a pure white, much like Mothkit herself. What had happened?

It was then that she realized where she was. Where she had to be. It was the only explanation.

They had entered the Silver Forest.


	6. Typhos II

**Typhos Pt. 2**

How? How had they suddenly appeared into the Silver Forest? Hadn't they just been walking through ThunderClan territory? What was that pain? Why had the toms changed pelt colors? Why had they brought her here in the first place?

"Thornheart," Mothkit exclaimed, "How did we get here?" He had seemed at least a little bit kind earlier. Surely he would answer her question.

However, her hopes were dashed when the now-ginger tom turned his head, his eyes much more serious than they had been before, "My name here is not Thornheart. Call me Ruby." Mothkit blinked, confused, but then started lashing her tail in frustration. He hadn't answered her question!

"And before you make the same mistake," The older, now white tom growled, "I go by Frost. Now be quiet or I'll strand you here in the blink of an eye."

Mothkit shivered. She could hardly imagine being stuck here. Did cats even get hungry here? Would she have to teach herself to hunt and fight? However, if she was smart, she wouldn't need to worry about any of that. Frost, as Brownfoot called himself, didn't appear to be kidding. She would have to follow his every order. She still wanted to know why they had taken her here though, but she would have to wait.

Eventually they came upon two giant stone structures that appeared like large tree trunks. Lots of scents began to overwhelm the young she-kit. It seemed as if many cats lived here. Did the Silver Forest have its own set of Clans? Were the cats taking her there to be killed so they wouldn't get caught? Mothkit shivered as she began to imagine what could be awaiting her.

They walked in between the structures, and Mothkit realized that the path underneath them had become stone. They continued walking, and Mothkit's pads began to grow sore, but she didn't dare complain. She believed Frost's threat, and she didn't want to push him.

The path began to slope down, much to her relief. However, that relief quickly turned to dread as she saw what was ahead of her.

It was definitely a camp, but it was a camp unlike anything she had ever seen before. There was an incredibly large stone structure in the center of the camp, and it resembled a Twoleg holding some large twig or something with an orb at the end. Had Twolegs originally lived here? There were many cats seated around the clearing, which increased in height the farther away you got from the Twoleg structure, almost as if the structure had caused the ground to sink. She could also glance something that appeared to be a fresh-kill pile. So cats here did get hungry! She really didn't want to get stranded now.

The two toms led her into the camp, and she immediately ducked her head down. The entire group was staring at her. Oddly enough, there were no other kits that she could see, even though she could see a couple or two that certainly appeared to be mates. Perhaps she was just unlucky. Maybe the younger looking apprentice-types would help her release some of her energy.

She was led to the very center of the camp, when she was suddenly picked up by Ruby and placed at the top of the base of the Twoleg structure. Then, at the beckoning of Frost, he hurried off towards a large stone cave. Mothkit awkwardly looked around. Why were all the cats so interested? She could get that she was an unknown kit, but some of the cats were staring at her in wide-eyed astonishment.

She shook her head, deciding to ignore it, and looked around for Sage. Surely he'd be here somewhere right? Or was he a rogue in this land? He couldn't be a rogue though, a rogue would never be that nice! He saved her from the wisps! However, she could not spot him here. Perhaps he was in another Clan?

Mothkit looked over at the cave Ruby had disappeared to, only to see the ginger tom reappear with the oldest cat she had ever seen. He was a brown tabby, but so much gray flecked his pelt that he almost appeared more grey than brown. One his ears was only half there.

The old cat padded over to the young kit, his expression neutral, "Welcome, young one, I am known as the Sentinel of Time, but you have permission to call me Sen. We have much to talk about." He then turned to the crowd, who were intently watching, "Acolytes, this is a momentous occasion. Whether it is to be good or bad is yet to be seen, but Typhos lives!"

"Typhos lives!" The cats chanted back at him, their expressions ranging from pure horror to pure bliss. She still couldn't understand. Who was this Typhos? What was it?

"You all know that the time for fun and games has stopped, for we now have little time to spend! Our salvation may be upon us, or our doom!" Sen continued, his voice reverberating throughout the clearing, "The Timekeeper must never fall!"

"All hail the Timekeeper!" The cats chanted back. The force of it was beginning to make Mothkit's head hurt, so she flattened her ears. The old tom must have clearly noticed this, because he picked her up by the scruff and began padding back to the big stone cave as the rest of the cats watched, silent.

Once they were in the cave, Mothkit saw that it wasn't just all bare stone, as there was a nice, typical nest lying in the middle of the cave. There were plenty more stone structures everywhere though, and there were multiple of the same Twoleg from the center of the camp. She was placed down in the nest, with Sen sitting down just next to the nest.

"You must be quite confused about all of this," He mused, "I remember my first time here. I nearly passed out in terror."

Mothkit frowned, "This isn't my first time here! I've been here two other times! I fought a wisp!" Why was he so sure that this was her first time here?

In fact, the words she had just spoken seemed to cause Sen to gape at her. However, he composed himself and asked, "Well, regardless of how many visits you've made, you have yet to tell me your name."

"Mothkit," She replied, "Who is this Typhos I keep hearing about? Everyone seems to think differently of it!"

The Sentinel shook his head, "I'm sorry, little Mothkit, you are not ready to bear such knowledge, and you shall not gain it from anyone here. You will learn eventually." Mothkit dug her claws into the nest in frustration. Why couldn't they tell her?

"That is not the most important thing we need to talk about, young one," He responded, "Would you be willing to join us? We can teach you all we know, and trust me, though you know not of what I speak, the glory that follows the journey of an acolyte is always satisfying. Would you please consider?"

Mothkit sighed. What did she have to lose?

"Let's do it."


	7. Typhos III

**Typhos pt. 3**

"Good," Sen replied, "Things would have been much more difficult if you hadn't agreed…" He frowned, staring off into the distance. Mothkit fidgeted uncomfortably. What did he mean by that? It almost seemed like a veiled threat.

The tom shook his head, "Regardless, you are one of us now. No sense dwelling on the hypotheticals. We don't have all the time in the world," Sen winked at her, "At least not yet. Do you have any questions, little one?"

Mothkit didn't know what to say. If she had thought before that the Silver Forest was overwhelming, it was much more so in the present time. "Um…Is this a Clan?" All she could think about was how Thornhea…Ruby and Frost had switched bodies and names. Why did she look the same?

The Sentinel chuckled, "I suppose this is like one of your little Clans in many ways. However you must realize we are something else entirely. Our goals are not to prosper, or to control the most territory around a pathetic lake. We are much more powerful than any number of bloodthirsty warriors."

Mothkit blinked, "What is your goal then?" She was starting to feel weird about all of this. For some reason, she felt that Sen was much older than she thought he was. Perhaps older than time itself.

"Our goal, which will soon be your goal, is to protect time," Sen replied smoothly. Seeing her incredulous look, he evenly explained, "Time may seem like something untouchable in your life. It may seem like background noise, but truly, time makes up the fibers of the world, and we and we alone must protect it from those who would dare seek to use it in a way that would cause all of our world to collapse."

Mothkit gaped at the tom in wonder, "Woah, you're like medicine cats but for the world!"

Sen laughed heartily, "I suppose we are, little one. Now please, please, ask anything. I wish for you to be sufficiently informed before you are Initiated."

"Initiated?" Mothkit echoed questioningly.

"All in due time, little Moth," Sen murmured softly, "Time is not something to be rushed."

"Alright then…" Mothkit blinked, tilting her head in a fashion that would certainly remind any onlookers of the naivety of the young cat in question, "Why are there no kits here like me? I need someone to play with if I wanna join! Can my littermates join?"

Sen frowned, "Sadly, you are the only newcomer. It is…Rare for such a young cat to make their way into this realm. Don't worry though, you will be satiated. You will not go wanting for something to do. We do not operate under your 'Warrior Code,' so when you are here you will be allowed to do many things."

"So I can't show my littermates this place? Can I tell them about here?" Mothkit replied, a bit sad at the thought of being the only kit here, even with the exciting knowledge of there being no restrictions against kits.

Sen's eyes flashed in alarm, "Oh no, bringing someone unworthy to a place such as this would be…Unhealthy…Even telling your littermates of this place would be too dangerous. This must be kept to yourself."

Mothkit's ears flattened, she wanted to tell someone about this amazing place though! "Fine…" she muttered, "Why do some cats' pelts change colors but not mine when we come here?"

The old tom simply smiled, "Oh you'll learn eventually. If Chronos wills it, than you shall learn it all."

"Chronos? Who's that?" She queried, "Is he a cat?"

"Actually, Chronos is not. I know not of his true nature but he is no feline," Sen replied, shaking his head, "Chronos is the great being of this realm, although he does not reside here. He is the Lord of Time. As his presence in our realm faded, he gave me a direct command to protect what he had created here, and thus proclaimed me his dutiful Sentinel. In what feels like both a second and an eternity, I have protected this realm, and many Acolytes have spent their whole lives dedicated to both protecting and furthering the understanding of time."

"How long have you been here?" Mothkit asked, incredulous and overwhelmed over all this information.

"Now that is an interesting question," he replied, his eyes twinkling, "I suppose you could say…I've been here an eternity…Do you have any more questions? We must exit the cave soon, for the Acolytes will grow restless given enough time."

"One more…" Mothkit replied, "Are there any other cats other than your Acolytes?" Perhaps he could tell her who Sage was.

Sen frowned, "No, certainly not. No cat other than a Sentinel such as myself could withstand the wilderness of this realm for long by themselves, so rogues are nonexistent."

Mothkit's eyes widened a little bit. But Sage was alone! Maybe the Sentinel was wrong. Sage was certainly a cat, that's for sure. She decided that that was it. Sen was wrong. She hoped she would see Sage soon. He had found her first, not this odd group.

"It's time young Moth. It is time for your initiation. Follow me," Sen mewed ominously, beckoning her as he exited the cave.

She stepped outside and saw that the entire group was still there, except now they all had their heads bowed towards the statue in the center of the clearing. Was this like a Clan ceremony? Was this all for her? She followed Sen until they reached the foot of the statue. "Stay there and relax," Sen ordered her, leaping up until he was on one of the arms of the statue.

"Acolytes, prepare for the Initiation. As Typhos looms, we are provided someone pivotal to our success or our failure. Either way, they have been proven worthy of this realm," Sen boomed, "While the realm finds her suitable, one must consult the Lord himself to know if one is truly pure enough to bear our mark! Acolytes, begin!"

Mothkit tried her hardest to relax, but she was incredibly nervous. What was going to happen to her? Had she been a rabbit-brain? What if this was all a trick? What if her mother had realized her disappearance? She would be so worried!

A low chanting began to fill the clearing, "Great Lord, hear our calls, test our faith, wash away the impure!" It repeated and repeated, and a humming noise began to sound. Mothkit was beginning to grow light-headed. She tried her hardest to focus on Sen, but found her eyes getting drawn to the large orb in the scepter the statue held. It was drawing her in.

Suddenly, as the humming got loud enough to hurt her ears, a bright blue light began to shine from the orb, falling upon the young kit and immobilizing her. Mothkit yelped in surprise, panicking. The light formed a bubble around her and lifted her up into the air until she was face to face with the orb itself. If it had been drawing her in before, it was like a black hole now. However hard she tried, all she could see was the blue light. She could feel a thrumming in her body. It was a thrumming of power. It was almost as if she could feel the tendrils of time snaking around her. She felt as if she could do anything.

Then, she heard a faint voice. It spoke no language she could understand, but it filled her entire being, until her whole world faded into obscurity. The voice spoke with such authority that she felt that anything it said was already so, and that she was simply an extension of its power.

A pain hit her as the voice spoke. It was a splitting pain that started on her forehead and snaked its way through and around her body, burning into her very being and soul. There was nothing she could do to fight it, so she lay limp. The pain grew and grew until it felt as if pain was all there was.

Then, the pain disappeared and she found herself on the ground where she had stood. However, things felt different. She wasn't herself anymore. Or at the very least, she was not her old self. She was bigger. She could feel that right away. She could feel the power in her muscles. She quickly made her way to the nearest puddle, looking at herself. What was looking back looked familiar, but at the same time was incredibly strange. Her fur was still mainly white, but her paws were oddly gray, and she had a gray mark on her forehead that seemed just like the orb from the statue. Not only that, but she was definitely bigger. She was a bit bigger than Thrushpaw and Harepaw were! She no longer had the fluffiness of her old kit fur. She seemed more mature. If she could guess, she would guess she appeared to be somewhere around 8-10 moons old.

"Chronos has accepted her and given her quite the gift!" Sen announced from his perch, "He has gifted her a more mature body in order to better withstand the rigorous training, and he has given her his mark!" Leaping down from the statue, he added, "She has truly blossomed into something new. Meet Moth, your new Acolyte!"

Mothkit (though she supposed she wasn't a kit any longer in the Forest) still couldn't believe what she had just experienced. Surely this had to be a dream. It had to be. This was too much. She wanted to go home!

Seeing her panicking, Sen sighed, "I see you need some time to process this gift. Perhaps it is time for you to return home, Moth."

"Bu…But…I left camp, they'll think I'm missing and um…um…I'm not me anymore!" She stammered, trying not to break down.

Sen grinned, "Shhh, young one. Everything will be alright. You never left the camp, see?" He winked, and suddenly Mothkit's world faded.

Suddenly she found herself back in camp, watching Hawkclaw pad over to the fresh-kill pile. She was back in her own body. Had Sen done this? Had she even left in the first place? Surely that wasn't a daydream, right? She padded towards the elder's den. Surely they could give her a distraction. She felt incredibly off.

If that had all happened though, she was a bit excited. She had temporarily felt that power, and it excited her. She frowned though. She couldn't get ahead of herself. She would learn it all.

All in due time.


	8. Looper

**Looper**

Mothkit sat in the shadows of the camp, still a bit disoriented from what had just occurred moments prior. Just moments before she had been transformed into something new. Something…Something better. She had felt the power of time prickling at her paws. The voice that had trembled within her had filled her until she had felt like she was overflowing. Now, it was gone. It had all disappeared in an instant.

Would she one day be able to do what Sen had just done? He had sent her back in time! Either that, or time was different in The Silver Forest. Regardless, she was excited. Sen had said that she would have no restrictions at their camp like she did at WindClan. She could use her new body to learn new things. She wondered if Sage would even recognize her…

Huh, she thought, considering what had just occurred, her earlier doubts about whether Sage was real or not were now unfounded. She just wondered why Sen seemed so adamant that there were no others living in The Silver Forest other than their group. Was Sage just in a different section of the forest or was he a part of Sen's group?

Mothkit got up, her body feeling awkward and stiff, almost as if she had been laying there the entire time she had been in The Silver Forest. She didn't feel exactly in tune with her body. It was as if her mind was yearning for the strong and capable body the Initiation had given her. She stretched, noting how much weaker her younger muscles were. She certainly couldn't wait to grow older if it meant being that much stronger. Now that she had experienced her other form, it was almost cruel for her to be back so soon. She felt almost wistful.

"What are you doing back there?" An accusatory voice mewed. Mothkit turned her head to see Hawkclaw walking toward her, eyes narrowed. "Were you trying to leave camp?" She growled, although to Mothkit the anger didn't seem so genuine. There almost seemed to be a hint of amusement to it.

"Nooooo…" Mothkit murmured, her ears flattening. She supposed it would seem incredibly suspicious to a kit-conscious bystander that she was standing near the camp entrance in the shadows. She grinned though, as she thought she could diffuse the situation, "I came here to invade!" She pounced at Hawkclaw's right shoulder, hooking her still tiny claws in and letting out a 'fearsome' war cry.

Hawkclaw shook for a second in surprise, but then burst out laughing and grabbed Mothkit's scruff, pulling her off and setting her down. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to be back on watch any moment now. No time for games." After she saw Mothkit's pouting expression, she smiled, "However, I think you could invade the nursery. Your littermates should be up really soon anyways!"

Mothkit nodded quickly, smiling, and scampered off, happy that she had gotten away without consequence. She made her way into the nursery, where she saw the large nest marked by her mother's slumbering body. Curled up next to her were her littermates, both calmly asleep. Mothkit carefully made her way over to Skykit, not wanting to wake Ambershade up. She poked her brother's shoulder with a paw, and he shifted and stretched a little bit in his sleep. Mothkit giggled softly and decided on a way to wake her brother up for sure. She gathered her haunches quickly before pouncing, landing roughly right on her brother's side. His eyes flew open and his claws flew out as he yelped in terror. She quickly jumped off to avoid his blows, and as he blinked a few times, he groaned.

"Why are you waking me up again early?" He grumbled, getting up and getting out of the nest. "Can't you just sleep a bit longer?"

Mothkit rolled her eyes, "I've been up foreeeeeever! I want someone to play with, and Hawkclaw said I could wake you guys up!"

"You know Ambershade wouldn't agree…" Skykit murmured, "Whatever, let's wake Silverkit up!"

As the tom said that, another head rose from the nest. The she-kit's eyes were bright, "I'm already up! I heard you say we're going to play?" Silverkit hopped out of the nest as well, padding up to her brother and touching her nose to his cheek, "and that you're not going to be such a downer!"

"Haha, very funny," Skykit replied, feigning annoyance, but his eyes twinkled. He turned towards the entrance and beckoned the two other kits to follow him out. Rather than do so, Mothkit decided to run ahead of her siblings directly into the clearing.

Hawkclaw had gone back to her spot on watch duty, and as before, there were few cats around. They would have a pretty big area of camp to play in for a while.

Silverkit and Skykit padded up beside her, and Mothkit turned to face them. "So what are we going to play?" She asked.

Silverkit smiled, "Let's play ThunderClan versus WindClan! I call WindClan leader!" She stuck her tongue out at Skykit.

The tom's fur bristled, "But you always get to play leader! I wanna be leader!"

"You can be leader!" Mothkit exclaimed, "Of ThunderClan!" She turned to her sister, "But yeah, I'm gonna be WindClan leader this time!"

"Fight me for it!" Silverkit challenged, unsheathing her little claws and preparing herself. Mothkit grinned and pounced on her sister. They wrestled for a little bit, only for Mothkit to find herself pinned against the ground by her sister. "Oh well," Silverkit mewed, "I guess you're gonna have to be a filthy rogue, or worse, a ThunderClan cat!"

Mothkit growled. She really wanted to be leader. She'd been to The Silver Forest! None of her littermates could say the same thing! She was getting so annoyed, in fact, that she hardly noticed when something shifted in her view.

Suddenly, she was standing up, facing her sister again, who was crouched down with claws out. Huh? Mothkit swayed on her paws for a second. What had just happened? She felt dizzy, and it was like she was tired, but not physically. It was almost as if her essence itself was tired.

"C'mon Mothkit! Fight me! Or are you scared?" Silverkit goaded, mistaking Mothkit's confusion for hesitation. Mothkit shook it off. Surely her mind was just playing tricks on her right? She pounced towards her sister, this time landing on top of her back and hanging on. They wrestled some more, although this time Mothkit had the upper hand. She was about to pin her sister when all of a sudden her perspective changed again.

She was back facing her sister again. Her stomach felt queasy. She swayed on her paws for a moment, and her sister noticed. "Are you okay Mothkit?" Silverkit exclaimed with worry in her voice. Mothkit couldn't reply. Her mind was racing. Was Sen doing this to her? Was it Sage? Or was time just broken? Before she could think about it much more, her mind was hit by another jolt, as she was yet again back to facing her sister.

She was scared. What if she was stuck? Why was this happening? Maybe she could stop this. If Sen could mess with time and she had been Initiated, maybe she could try to do what he could do. Maybe this had been her doing all along.

She let time reset again, ignoring the concerned cries of her littermates, and focused on her surroundings in her mind. She willed time to move as normal. She willed harder than she thought was possible.

After a second or two, she jumped on Silverkit, hoping that she had done something good. She wrestled with her sister, this time recognizing a bit of a pattern in her sister's attacks. This time, Mothkit ended up victorious, but she was cautious. Even as Silverkit grumbled about having to lose her status, Mothkit prepared for a jump in time, but it never came. The only clue she had that it had all been real and not a hallucinations was that she felt as if she needed to retch.

"Call me Mothstar from now on, filthy ThunderClan warrior!" Mothkit snapped playfully at her sister, puffing up her chest to look as regal as a young kit can look. However, even as she played, thoughts bounced around in her head. Was this power hers? What else could she do?

The one thing she did know was that she certainly wasn't going to be some ThunderClan scum this time.


	9. Hard Work I

**Hard Work Pt. 1**

Mothkit opened her eyes and was immediately surprised to find herself in an unknown environment. She was standing upright on a stone slab, overlooking a valley. She looked down and noticed that she wasn't in the body of a kit. She was in The Silver Forest! She was in her new body! She grinned, it felt good to be back.

Her whiskers twitched as a new scent suddenly reached her. A voice then spoke into her ear, "Welcome, Moth, it is time for your training to begin." Mothkit nearly jumped in surprise, whirling around to see Sen giving a half-smile. He was flanked by two cats who appeared closer to her size. One was a ginger she-cat with green eyes and the other was a brown tabby with amber eyes.

"Um…Uh," Mothkit stammered, "Who are they? Are they other…trainees?" She glanced at them somewhat suspiciously. Would she have to train against these two cats in some form?

"Ah yes…" Sen muttered, "These cats will be assisting us today. They are not entirely new to our ways, but they certainly have room to gain experience." The she-cat sent Mothkit a wink, her eyes twinkling. Meanwhile, the tom simply gazed at her, his gaze unwavering.

The she-cat then took a small step forward, cheerily mewing, "Your ceremony was incredible! You must be quite special indeed for Chronos to give you such a gift!" She gazed admiringly at Mothkit, which was beginning to make her feel incredibly self-conscious. Her new body was larger than that of the she-cat's and it unnerved her. She was probably something like 4 moons younger than her body felt. She felt like she didn't deserve such a gift. "Oh!" The she-cat added, "I forgot to tell you my name! I'm Ember, and the quiet tom right here is Alder. He was unlucky enough not to be here at your ceremony!" Ember stuck her tongue out at the tom, who rolled his eyes at her.

Alder took a step towards Mothkit, inspecting her, "And how was the ceremony…Moth…What makes you so special as to give you the mark of the Time Lord himself upon you?" His eyes were cold and narrowed. Mothkit looked at Sen, but he was smiling, watching the conversation unfold in silence.

Just as Mothkit was about to stammer out a reply, Ember came to her rescue, "Does it really matter now Alder? You know how secretive the older ones can get, I doubt anyone's told the poor little thing anything!"

Alder scoffed at the remark, commenting, "Doesn't look too poor or little to me. She looks stronger than you Ember!" Mothkit's ears went flat. She didn't want to be some source of contention among two cats she had just met!

Ember glared at Alder, "You're just jealous aren't you?"

Alder laughed, "No way, I simply know that we all serve a cause here. I don't want some useless kit messing everything up. There is more at stake here than territory or food, right?"

"Enough," Sen barked out, "We have work to do. Finish your squabbling after the session is over." The two cats immediately clammed up, Ember's eyes wide with despair.

"Now," Sen began, more calmly, "Moth, when you took part in the Initiation, do you remember feeling the world around you? Did it begin to feel almost tangible? Almost as if you were surrounded by branches of string?" Mothkit nodded, recalling in awe the feelings that had coursed through her. She had felt the world. It had been at her paws. "What you were feeling was time itself. Time is woven into the fabric of all worlds, but there are few who can sense it. Those who do typically end up here. Today I'll be teaching you how to protect yourself from a mental attack. There are many creatures in this forest that could enter your mind and wreak havoc. You must learn how to defend yourself from this."

Mothkit almost let a smile out. She'd get this one down easy, right? She had taken out a wisp as a young kit! "How?" She inquired.

There was no response, instead, she felt something. Someone was probing into her, attempting to break in. Her eyes went wide in shock, and she retreated into a sort of mental wall, trying to keep herself from feeling that terrible pain she remembered. However, her wall almost immediately collapsed, and the presence was inside of her. She tried to shake her head to get rid of the feelings, but she found she couldn't move. She stared at Sen. But he didn't appear to be behind it. However, she looked behind him and saw Ember staring at Mothkit with a ferocity that had been missing before.

Suddenly, the presence was lifted, and Sen sighed, "Yes, young one, I know you were not expecting that, but if you ever come into conflict with someone in tune with the ways of Time, you will not have time to prepare." He padded towards her, brushing his tail along her flank, "I know when you feel the presence you immediately try to form a wall. It's a common misconception. Against lesser creatures, this will work fine at keeping things out, but against skilled opponents you will be broken into and crushed."

"So what do I do?" Mothkit murmured, feeling a bit strained at what had just happened.

"It's simple really," Sen smiled, "You must feel Time. You must be in touch with your surroundings. You must use Time against your opponent before they can do the same to you. The cat who can better maneuver the strands of time will win the majority of their battles." He leaned in close to her, "You must reach out with your very essence to reach Time. Your will must be stronger than ever before every single time you need to access Time. Take the strands of time and soak in their power. This power is what broke through your wall, not any weakness on your part. Time shapes our world in every way. We can only hope to manipulate the tiniest stretches of its fabric."

Mothkit nodded. This was all sounding so overwhelming. The challenge seemed immense, and yet, if Ember could do it, maybe she could too?

"Good," Sen mewed, "Now Ember will put up her best mental wall. Take it down." Mothkit gulped, looking at the she-cat, who was entirely focused on the ground in front of her. It was as if the mental effort was causing Ember to undergo physical stress. Her legs almost seemed to shake.

Uncertain, Mothkit imagined her going towards Ember's mind, but felt nothing. Frowning, she focused again, staring at the ginger she-cat. She needed to will her future, not imagine it. She strained her mind as much as possible, hoping it would work. It almost felt as if there was a part of her outside of her body. It made her feel…empty. However, she found what appeared to be a blockage of some kind in Ember's direction. Could this be the wall? She used her probe to feel along the wall, inspecting it. It was entirely smooth, and seemingly impregnable.

Taking Sen's advice, Mothkit focused on her surroundings, trying to feel those strands. After numerous moments, she began to feel something brushing against her pelt. Taking a quick glance, she could see nothing. However, she was feeling more and more things around her, surrounding them all. Was this Time? She probed into the strands, feeling a deep hum emanating from them. She nearly growled trying to coax the power out. Why was it so hard?

She began to feel something, but…she was straining too hard. Her vision was beginning to grow blurry…

Suddenly, the feelings were gone. She nearly fell, but she found herself leaning heavily into Sen's shoulder. "It's alright," his voice murmured into her ear, "You made great progress. You'll make us proud."

After a moment or two of dead silence, Mothkit managed to stand up straight. She saw the look of concern on Ember's face and felt a bit of warmth, but that was soured by the pure indifference of Alder, who wasn't even watching her, but was glancing around the trees.

"I think you've done enough mental work for this visit," Sen mewed, "Ember, Alder, take her back to camp, see she learns a thing or two about us." The two cats bowed their heads. Mothkit did the same, uneasily watching Sen. Was he not coming?

As Ember beckoned her away, she watched Sen. He turned around. He appeared to be looking down onto the valley, looking for something, although she didn't know what. Soon, he disappeared from view as they walked away. Now she was alone with Ember and Alder.

If there was one thing she'd realized then, was that even though she had been gifted natural strength, she would have to work hard for her mind to reach her body.

Mothkit was ready though. She would be able to do it.


	10. Hard Work II

Hard Work Pt. 2

Mothkit followed the two cats, and quickly found herself falling alongside Ember. The she-cat, while she had been intense during training, had been so friendly that she seemed easily more approachable than the dark storm of a cat that Alder seemed to be. "Sooo…" She murmured, "Are you another member of the Clans? Or are you a rogue? Or a kittypet?"

To her surprise, Ember's eyes flashed with a slight bit of alarm, "I'm sorry, Moth, but we're simply not allowed to give information about where we're from. I'm sorry if Sen neglected to mention it, but we simply are a separate cat here in the forest." At Mothkit's downtrodden expression, Ember's expression softened, and she whispered, "I prefer it to be that way though, as should you in the long run. There are no ties to the past weighing us down. We are as we are meant to be here in The Silver Forest. Your slate is clean here. In the meantime, however, refrain from asking others this question." She gave Mothkit's cheek a lick, her eyes flashing warmth.

"But…" Mothkit protested, "I don't understand. Why? What does keeping secrets like that have to do with protecting time? Why is it a rule?"

Ember blinked, clearly unsure of how to respond. She opened her mouth and closed it again, frowning. She appeared to have come up with some form of an acceptable answer when a voice from her other side startled her, growling, "We're all here for one reason only. We all have one cause. We are all here to protect Time, and that's all." She turned to see Alder glaring at her with a sort of simple fury. It was as if she was a bug in his view. She almost felt unworthy under his strong gaze. She squirmed again, moving a bit closer to Ember.

"Just imagine this," Ember murmured into her ear, "Let's say two cats are complete rivals. They've hated each other their whole lives. They would never be able to work with each other no matter if it meant life or death. Would you want these two cats working together in order to protect a single thing? I doubt it. We are given new bodies so as to almost give us a new soul. It allows us to shed our worldly personality and lose our worlds flaws in exchange for something almost transcendent. As we grow older here in the forest we grow as spirits. This is why there are rarely any kits here. They have not yet grown to form a personality truly of their own, so they have nothing to base their growth from. The older you are, the easier it is to separate what's real here versus what is real in our normal lives. One of the biggest challenges for you, Moth, will be realizing that the ways of the Silver Forest and of your world are different, and they cannot comingle."

Mothkit stared at Ember, her eyes wide open. She had not expected Ember to speak such words of wisdom. It was as if someone else had been speaking. "You sound like Sen…" She mewed in awe, her fur prickling.

"It's always interesting when she goes off into one of her spirit talks," Alder mewed teasingly, his eyes almost seeming to actually have emotion in them. Mothkit blinked, surprised. It almost sounded as if he was being a tad bit friendly. Where had that come from? Perhaps he was friends with Ember. That would make a modicum of sense, although she was still miffed over how dismissive he was of Mothkit.

Ember chuckled, "Whatever you say, furball, you know what I'm saying would be true for you too if you didn't have such a hard shell around you." The two cats certainly seemed to be friends of some sort. Maybe Mothkit could get Alder to soften up towards her a little by becoming friends with Ember?

"I found it interesting!" Mothkit mewed with a kit-like exuberance, almost immediately feeling a bit embarrassed. She would need to act and sound more mature while in this body. She had to act above her age.

She was certain that one of Ember or Alder would tease her for it, but neither of them did. Ember's only reaction was to brush her tail along Mothkit's flank and smile. Alder was muttering to himself, but when Mothkit glanced in his direction again, he appeared to have a bit of a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. It still made Mothkit a bit mad. She didn't want to be the cute thing everyone laughed at, she wanted to be a legitimate part of the conversations her new…Group-mates would inevitably attempt to have with her. She could certainly do it. She wasn't that immature. At least not for her age.

Sighing, Mothkit continued walking alongside the two cats, absorbing her surroundings. It was incredibly peaceful. Whatever wild creatures there were felt content with leaving the three of them alone. Perhaps the nearby spirits sensed the power flowing between them. Perhaps they simply knew of Sen and deliberately avoided them. She shook her head, wondering on. She felt that she would never fully understand The Silver Forest, no matter how much of her life she spent trying to. The realm was an enigma protected by a group of enigmas, with enigmatic loners apparently secretly living around, or at least, that appeared to be the case with Sage.

She noticed Ember moving out of the corner of her eye and saw her reaching up to whisper to her, "I'm sorry for how Alder acted today. He's very…dedicated. To be completely honest, I don't think he has the greatest…real world…living situation. Be patient with him, he'll come around to you if you show him you are willing to take all of this seriously."

"What are you two muttering about?" Alder mewed sharply, rolling his eyes at the two of them, "I hope you're at least teaching her something." Mothkit frowned. What could be going on in Alder's other life to make him so…She couldn't think of a word to describe it, but she felt like he certainly wasn't anywhere near as old as he tried to act. Maybe…Maybe he was just scared for some reason? Scared of what though? There didn't appear to be any crack in his stoic expression as of now. Perhaps she was just reading too much into it. That had to be it.

"You know me Alder," Ember stuck her tongue out at the tom, "I'm truly a giver of life lessons. It's still a shame you didn't follow my advice to mind your own business every once in a while." While her words were playful, there was a bit of a warning in her eyes that even the young Mothkit could recognize. Wisely, Alder did not respond, but simply harrumphed and kept walking forward, his eyes glittering in annoyance. Ember purred softly and added softly, "He's a soft kitten at heart, just like me and you, Moth. Just don't say it to his face or he'll try to prove you wrong."

Moth stared after Alder as they walked behind him. She was going to get closer to him. It was a sort of a curiosity within her that she was finding hard to deny. No matter how much Sen and his followers looked down on it, she needed to figure out what Alder's problem was.

Suddenly, Alder stopped, his nose high in the air, his mouth open. The tom's eyes were filled with a sudden alarm the likes of which Mothkit had never seen before, "Bear!" Alder exclaimed, looking back at Ember and Mothkit, "Run!" He took off and ran straight forward, probably towards the camp. Mothkit looked around confused, until she spotted a massive silhouette in the distance, a mighty rumble beginning to make itself apparent with each step of the bear.

The trio ran as fast as possible, until the landscape began feeling familiar to Mothkit. They were just outside of the camp. They all stopped, breathing heavily. "What was that thing?" Mothkit exclaimed breathlessly.

Ember quickly wheezed a response, "That was a bear spirit. They are very rare, and are almost always spotted at a distance. They typically only watch, but I've heard rumors that in their minds lie an impenetrable wall, so tough that even Sen can't break through," She took another big breath, "We are told to never face one, no matter the circumstance. We don't know what they want, but we don't want to find out. Hopefully you never come face to face with one."

Mothkit shivered, looking at the forest around them. The Silver Forest was crazier than she could have ever imagined, but she liked it. It felt…right to be here. Perhaps she truly was meant to be here. Maybe it had something to do with this Typhos thing.

All she knew was that she was going to do her best to protect Time, no matter what that entailed. That seemed to be the big idea of The Silver Forest.

However, it all left no room for Sage. Who was he? How did Sen not know about him? Why did he live separately from Sen's group? Why had he taken such an interest in her in her original visits?

Maybe once she grew strong enough, she could seek him out, but for now, she was exhausted. Hopefully she could go back and get some sleep. She'd need to act the part of a typical kit, wouldn't she? She couldn't act abnormal, no matter how much she itched to show others her powers.

She was unique, and she knew it. Now she just had to live with it.


	11. Perspective

Perspective

Mothkit awoke to the soothing feeling of her mother's tongue going across her pelt. Opening her eyes, she purred and looked up at Ambershade, silent. Her mother began purring as well, continuing to groom the young she-kit. She snuggled closer into her mother's warm body, closing her eyes again, but opened them again when her mother whispered to her, "Stay awake, little one, I'll be waking your littermates up too!"

Mothkit's eyes shot open, and she lifted her head up to ask a quick question, but her mother guessed what she was going to say before she asked, and mewed, "Yes, Mothkit, you may all go play outside when I'm done grooming you three." Mothkit would have jumped up in excitement if it wasn't for Ambershade's tongue going across the top of her head one final time. As her mother moved on to Silverkit, who was still sound asleep, Mothkit got up and scampered her way out of the nest. She looked around at the nursery, contemplating it. It hadn't seemed anywhere near close to full for a while now, ever since Harepaw and Thrushpaw had left. She wondered if there would be any new queens before they became apprentices. It wasn't that she necessarily wanted new playmates, but she did want kits in the nursery when they were apprentices. She adored how Harepaw, and occasionally Thrushpaw, came and played around with the kits. They even taught them some simple apprentice stuff one or two times! It would be great to give a gift like that to a group of younger kits.

She heard her sister come up behind her and turned, chirping, "Good morning Silverkit! You ready to play?" Mothkit gave her sister a little nudge with her nose, grinning at Silverkit. Her sister and herself were so alike. She loved it. It was just too bad that she couldn't share anything about The Silver Forest with her. She hated to keep a secret from her littermates, but she knew she had too. She would hate to be kicked out of her other world!

"You should already know the answer to that question, you hare-brain!" Silverkit teased, eyes glinting as if she was expecting a fight. Mothkit let out a playful growl and leapt at her sister, happily obliging. Her sister dodged the leap and tackled Mothkit, letting a little war-cry loose.

Ambershade glanced up from where she was grooming a very groggy Skykit and rolled her eyes. "It took you two less than a heart-beat to ruin your pelts again! Why am I not surprised…?" Her two she-kits merely stopped fighting for a moment, giggled to each other, and promptly continued rolling around in the dust and dirt, attempting to pin each other.

Soon enough, Skykit found his way towards his two squabbling littermates and mewed, "Come on guys, we can head out!" Mothkit and Silverkit immediately stopped their play-fighting, sharing an excited look between them. The three kits quickly made their way out into the main camp. If one were watching from afar, they'd see two ruffled and slightly dirty kits being led by another, more perfectly groomed kit. It would be sure to cause some temporary amusement for any who were around camp at the time.

Mothkit glanced up at the sun, mewing, "It's already sun-high? We definitely need to get some games in then!" She quickly bounded to grab their special ball of moss. They had made it over a moon ago, and they all considered it to be their 'lucky' toy, although when asked how a mossball could be lucky, the kits often deflected the question. To them though, the longevity of said ball of moss was impressive, and they often adorned the ball with various things over time, from feathers to little pebbles. Ambershade had told them herself that it had been collected from the forest part of their territory especially for them, although she forgot who had collected it. Perhaps one of Harepaw or Thrushpaw went and made it.

Bringing the ball of moss over, Mothkit was about to place it down when she noticed a look in Silverkit's eyes that irked her. She quickly dropped the moss, mewing, "What's wrong?" With her preoccupation, she didn't notice the apprentice slowly stalking up behind her. Suddenly, just as Mothkit was about to ask again, confused, the cat pounced and landed at its target, quickly pinning Mothkit to the ground. She yelped in terror, but quieted down, embarrassed, as she saw who it was.

"You need to pay attention to your surroundings Mothkit!" Harepaw exclaimed, amused, "You should have heard me moons ago!" He got off of Mothkit, and she quickly bounced back up, self-consciously licking some of her fur back down.

"I was…I was busy okay!" She exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at the apprentice who was much larger than the three of them at that point. "We were going to play mossball, but now you're here! What do you want to do?"

"Hmmm…" Harepaw murmured, smiling, "How about we put away that dirty old thing and play some hide and seek? How does that sound? I can be the seeker!" The three kits nodded eagerly, and Skykit batted the ball to the side, near the entrance to the nursery. "Alright then," the apprentice continued, "I'll count to 30, and then I'll catch you guys!" The tom closed his eyes and began counting softly to himself.

Skykit immediately dashed off towards the opposite end of the clearing, but Silverkit whispered something to Mothkit before she could rush off, "I have an idea, follow me!" Mothkit shrugged to herself and followed, wondering where her sister was going. She quickly grinned as she saw where they were. "I saw Stoneshade leave the camp as we came out. I think he's collecting herbs," Silverkit murmured.

"I've never explored this den before!" Mothkit exclaimed, noting there seemed to be a little cavern in the back of the den. "Maybe his herbs are back there," She mewed, "Wanna look?" At Silverkit's quick nonverbal agreement, she padded over, slipping into the small cave. She had been correct. The cave was filled with the strong odor of various herbs. It was so strong that she almost wanted to cough.

Silverkit bounded over to the nearest pile of leaf wraps and nosed them open carefully. They appeared to contain various seeds and similar things. Silverkit turned to her, grinning, "Bet you're too scared to try something!"

Mothkit frowned, "I don't know…Stoneshade might get kind of mad…" She padded to her sister though, staring at some small black seeds. There seemed to be a lot of them. What were they for?

"Come on!" Silverkit urged, "Think about it Mothkit! A medicine cat wouldn't have anything deadly here right? And there are so many of these seeds, he'll never even notice a thing!" As if to prove her point, she quickly bent her head down and lapped up two of the seeds, adding after she swallowed, "They don't taste half-bad!"

Mothkit hesitated, but didn't want her sister to have any sort of bragging rights over her. She had to follow up on this right? She bent down and lapped up another two of the seeds. Silverkit was right; the seeds tasted okay. She wondered why they were here. Were they just to maybe make sick cats feel better? Maybe they did good stuff to healthy cats too! She certainly didn't feel anything bad yet. "Let's wait back here!" She exclaimed, nudging her sister, who for some reason seemed to be a bit unfocused.

"Oh, what? Sorry!" Silverkit yelped, blinking a few times to clear her head. Was it just her or did Silverkit seem tired? Mothkit watched her littermate pad over to the far end of the small cavern and lay down. She wasn't sure if she was hiding or sleeping.

All of a sudden, Mothkit was starting to feel a bit tired as well. Was this because of those seeds? She decided to lie down next to her sister. Maybe she'd feel better…Maybe it'd be better if she took a short rest…She padded over to her sister, her world beginning to sway. She curled up next to her sister and hew world quickly turned black.

She immediately found herself awake again. At first she thought the herb had worn off, but she quickly found that she wasn't at her camp anymore.

Mothkit was back in The Silver Forest, and she wasn't in Sen's camp, as she had been when she had returned. She was in a familiar stretch of trees…

"Hello not-so-little one…Welcome back!" A familiar voice purred behind her. Mothkit swiveled around to see who it was, and her eyes widened.

"You know," Sage mewed, "I've forgotten how utterly hare-brained you kits can be. I suppose it is to my benefit right now though."

Mothkit took a step back, suddenly a bit nervous, "Why am I here? What happened to me?" She noticed that she was in her other body. How had Sage recognized her? She decided to file that question away for later. It wasn't the most important.

"You made an idiotic decision, that's what happened," Sage replied, smirking, "You actually thought there wouldn't some sort of consequence for stealing herbs? You're lucky I brought you here. Otherwise you'd be in a dreamless sleep right now. When you wake up you'll be punished by your mother. Quite harshly to be quite honest. I don't mind. It gives you more time here."

Mothkit's eyes widened, "What? How do you know this type of stuff? Who are you?" She tried to look at the tom to see if there was anything different about him, but he seemed to be just a typical cat.

"I've told you this before Hail," Sage mewed, eyes glittering with some unknown emotion, "I'm called Sage. The more important question is who are you? You clearly have grown quite significantly since I last saw you." Mothkit winced a little bit at the use of his name for her. She still wasn't sure why he had renamed her. It didn't feel right.

"I'm Mothkit, or maybe just Moth. I'm not Hail," She retorted, sending a quick glare at him, "I've grown because I was initiated into a group that is here to…uh…protect something…" She wasn't sure if she should say what. Mothkit felt as if she should trust Sage, but he was…eccentric. Perhaps it wouldn't be the best to tell him about how important her group was.

"Something? Sounds quite important!" Sage teased, his whiskers twitching, "I think I know just what you're talking about though. Let me guess, you were forced to join some crazy cult led by an old kook who has tried to make you think he's been entrusted by some deity to protect Time itself."

"I wasn't forced to join anything!" Mothkit exclaimed, indignant at the thought of anyone calling the wise Sen crazy, "He taught me some cool stuff! You just don't understand!" She decided to show him what Sen had taught her. She focused on Sage and tried to reach out for his mind, and quickly found it. She almost gasped out loud. It was…gigantic. She couldn't exactly quantify it, but she immediately knew that she wouldn't ever be able to penetrate defenses as immense as Sage's. His shield seemed to dwarf that of Ember's.

It wasn't long after she felt the wall that she felt a wave of force come back at her, surprising her and causing her to quickly retreat, unable to reach out to the Time around her to bolster herself. She quickly felt her mind being surrounded by a tidal wave of unimaginable force, and then as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Mothkit gasped, coughing up a storm as her body tried to recover from the intense scare she had just been through. What was that?

"Don't even attempt anything like that ever again…Kit…" Sage growled, the edge in his voice to a point that scared her greatly. She looked up at him with wide eyes, unable to even try to say something. The tom sighed, his expression softening. He softly continued, "Nothing you ever learn in that pathetic camp will teach you enough. Those fools don't know what Time even is. They think Time is a fabric that wraps around this world. They're wrong. Time is the energy of this world. Time is the matter of this world. Time is everything here. As long as Time exists here, we exist here as we are now. To look at Time only as part of our world limits our power."

"But…Sen was…" Mothkit stammered, entirely overwhelmed, "He said…He's been around an eternity! Surely he knows what Time is?"

"Maybe," Sage murmured, "Maybe he does. But if he does, he isn't teaching his disciples properly. He's either incompetent or selfishly corrupt. Either way, he's a stain on this realm. He doesn't deserve The Silver Forest. We're not going to let you succumb to his failures."

"Why not?" Mothkit asked, tilting her head, "What makes me so special?" Sen had apparently seen her as something special as well. Whatever that Typhos thing was had whipped their entire camp into a frenzy. She frowned. She wasn't sure what to think of what Sage was saying about Sen's group. They seemed so…She wasn't sure how to put it…Official? They couldn't be following a false leader, right?

Sage chuckled, "Now, little Hail, you should know that it wouldn't be in anyone's best interest to tell you that! If we tell you why you're special, maybe you'll just stop being special! Or at least, that's something close to what they've told you right?"

"As if," Mothkit muttered, "That's more than they've told me…" She pawed the ground, feeling a bit self-conscious. What was Sage going to do with her? Was she actually special?

"I think it's clear why you're special, right?" Sage mewed, rolling his eyes, "You have a mark on your forehead! That means something right?" Mothkit blinked. In all honesty, she had forgotten the mark Chronos had left her at the Initiation.

"But surely there's something else, right?" She mewed, "Why was here earlier? Why am I the only kit? What's Typhos?"

She knew she'd hit something when Sage's eyes flashed with some emotion. Alarm, maybe? However, he simply smiled and mewed, "Well I guess we'll just have to find out, won't we?" which made her fur bristle a bit. She wanted answers, but it seemed clear that Sage wasn't willing to work with her.

"Well," Sage mewed, "I think I've said all I need to. Next time you see Sen, make sure to tell him that your old friend Sage says hi. Actually, don't. He doesn't know me by that name." He grinned, his eyes hiding whatever he was feeling. Mothkit shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable. She felt…She felt as if something was…off…with Sage. As if he was crazy himself.

What she thought about Sage didn't matter anymore though, as with Sage saying goodbye, she suddenly felt that terrible sleepiness attacking her again, even more relentlessly this time. Mothkit tried to say something to Sage, but the words evaporated from her mouth before she could release them. She fell onto the ground, and as her head hit, everything went black once more.

However, things were very odd. She wasn't fully unconscious, or at least it didn't seem so. She could almost feel the void surrounding her. What was happening? She looked down and saw her paws beneath her. Where was she? It was as if she had stepped up into the sky where the stars were.

She looked around and noticed something peculiar. It was appearing as if the void around her was shining. There appeared to be crystals forming. The crystals were growing…spreading…They were filling her vision. Suddenly, the ground beneath her crack, and she fell, letting out a cry of despair as she tumbled and plummeted.

She began feeling light-headed, and then she hit something hard and she found herself back in the real world, or at least, she hoped. She opened one eye, groggy. Where was she? It was pitch black, but she could tell that she was back in the nursery. What had just happened? She remembered…She ate the seeds…Then…She spoke with…Sage? Had it been Sage? She could hardly remember…

"Mama?" She whispered, sniffing Ambershade's pelt. Everything seemed normal. She was so confused. She felt overwhelmed. What had she spoke with Sage about? She couldn't shake the feeling that something…Something big had happened…

She felt her mother stir, and began to feel happy, but when she saw the look in her mother's now opened eyes, her stomach turned. There was a fury in her eyes that she had never seen before. She whimpered.

"Do you know how worried you made me?" Ambershade hissed, sticking her muzzle into Mothkit's flank and resting it there. She could feel her mother's breathing, and it was oddly labored. It was as if she was…Had she really been worried about her? What had happened while she had been out?

She tried to get up, but she still felt…oddly heavy. Her eyes were still blurry with sleep, and she felt as if she still needed a day's worth of sleep. "What happened?" Mothkit mewed softly, squirming a little to try and get her mother to get off of her.

Ambershade sat up, her eyes sad, but at the same time filled with that same simple fury, "You swallowed poppy seeds, you little hare-brain! They make you tired. If you two had swallowed more than you did, you could have not woken up at all! You two are in big trouble, and so is Harepaw, for not keeping an eye on you two!"

"What?" Mothkit murmured. Those seeds were so tiny. What could they have done? "Don't punish Harepaw," Mothkit mewed, "He didn't know…"

Ambershade sighed, "I know, sweet one, I know…I was just so scared…You don't know how angry Stoneshade was. Someone's going to need to be punished strongly or he won't be happy."

"Are we gonna be punished?" Mothkit mewed nervously, recalling something Sage had said about this, but she couldn't recall exactly what.

"Definitely," her mother mewed firmly, "I've already decided, as a matter of fact. You and Silverkit won't be able to leave the nursery at all for the next quarter moon, and I won't let you two out without me watching for the next moon."

"But…" Mothkit protested weakly, "What are we going to do?"

"You can play just as well in here as out there," Ambershade mewed, clearly cross, "You should be thankful I didn't ask Heatherstar to delay your apprentice ceremonies for a half-moon."

Mothkit's eyes widened. Her mother was clearly very upset. Her comment brought up a thought in Mothkit that she had to let loose though. "Are we going to be made apprentices early like Harepaw and Thrushpaw?"

Ambershade sighed, her expression softer than before. "Most likely…ThunderClan won't let up anytime soon…" She licked the top of Mothkit's head, "Now try to sleep some more my little Moth. You need to sleep these seeds out of your system." Mothkit nodded, letting out a cute little yawn and curling up again against her mother. She could worry about her punishment later. However, there was one thing itching at her that she wanted to remember. There had been something else. She had seen something after Sage. What had happened?

She couldn't help but feel as if she needed to remember it. As if it would come up again later.

Mothkit let out a little sigh and burrowed deeper into the nest.

She could worry about it all later.


	12. Awareness

**Awareness**

The time had come. They had reached five moons old. She was about to become an apprentice!

Mothkit reflected on the recent past as Silverkit was called up. She had been 'called' to The Silver Forest a few times over the past moon, but all of the times had been with Sen and his mental training. Sadly, she hadn't been able to train with either Ember or Alder since, although she had seen them around the camp. She had been placed with other younger cats whose names largely escaped her. She remembered many of their names – Pirro, Chestnut, Apple, and many more – but it had all been so quick each time that she had hardly had time to introduce herself. She thought that perhaps Sen was avoiding having her work for too long due to her age. Hopefully now that she was being made an apprentice that would change.

One thing that did surprise her was that Sage hadn't visited her a single time since her poppy seed-induced visit. She still remembered little of the event, but she remembered very clearly that the tom had implied that they would see each other again. Why was he so mysterious about everything?

Mothkit blinked back into existence as her ears rushed with the sound of the Clan cheering Silverkit's name. She smiled as she watched her sister, who was saying something to her mentor, Larkwing, a dark-brown she-cat with amber eyes so light they almost appeared yellow. Mothkit didn't know much about her, but from what she did know the warrior was a fantastic hunter. She felt a little prick of jealousy. She hoped she'd be able to keep up with Silverkit! Well, Silverpaw now.

She glanced around. Had it really taken that long for Heatherstar to make Silverpaw an apprentice? She had been thinking for a long while. She shuffled nervously, wondering if she had accidentally done something with time. She hoped not. She still had little control over it.

Skypaw had gotten the she-cat Hawkclaw as his mentor. She felt happy for him. Although Hawkclaw wasn't anything special, she was well-regarded in the Clan for her passion and loyalty. She was sure Skypaw would become much of the same. Although he would need to stop being such a buzzkill sometimes! She stifled a giggle at the thought, sitting up straight as the anticipation within her built up. Ambershade was sitting next to her, a proud but slightly sad expression on her face. Mothkit could see her looking up at the sky every little while. Was she looking for her father? Was he watching? She hoped so. Mothkit didn't know him, but she would make him proud!

"Mothkit," Heatherstar boomed, his large, light-brown frame looming over them all, "As with your littermates, you have reached five moons, and thus are ready enough to become an apprentice." Mothkit gulped, looking up at the leader. Who would he give her?

"From this day on," Heatherstar continued, "until the day comes when you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Mothpaw." He paused for a moment, sweeping his gaze across all the cats gathered around him. "There are many worthy warriors in this Clan," Heatherstar mewed, causing a few murmurs of surprise at the break from ceremony tradition, "However, I feel as if I need a more direct role if we are to win this war. I will be your mentor, Mothpaw. I will pass down all I know to you, and we will grow stronger still." Shocked, Mothpaw padded forward to the leader, who leapt down from the Tallrock. The two touched noses, and Heatherstar murmured, "You may speak with your siblings, but be ready to go out with me soon. Now go."

Mothpaw blinked, still in shock that she was being taught by the leader of the Clan. Why hadn't she had some sort of warning? She padded off as the congratulatory yowls began to fade, replaced by softer calls as she walked past.

"Mothpaw!" A familiar voice mewed from just behind her. Turning, Mothpaw was delighted to see that it was Harepaw, who looked happy. "You got my father as a mentor!" Mothpaw's eyes widened a little. In all honesty, she had never really thought of who Harepaw's father was. She supposed she saw the resemblance. Harepaw's pelt looked remarkably similar to the leader. Still, she was surprised. She had never seen Heatherstar come into the nursery. Why was that?

"I wasn't expecting anything like this!" Mothpaw exclaimed, flicking her tail, "I thought I'd just be given to one of the warriors, like all of you guys!" Her pelt felt a bit hot with embarrassment as she noticed her littermates watching her from not too far off.

"I'm sure there'll be no hard feelings!" Harepaw chirped, smiling, "Our father is somewhat eccentric, but he knows so much about fighting! He helped oversee some of our training a few times, and StarClan he's good! You're in good paws!"

Mothpaw smiled back, mewing, "It sounds like fun! Now I'm gonna go chat with Silverpaw and Skypaw!" She turned and quickly hurried over to the two siblings, very aware of her sister's smirk.

"Harepaw saying hi?" Silverpaw mewed, grinning innocently, "He seemed happy!" Mothpaw rolled her eyes. She knew she'd be saying something similar to Silverpaw if it had happened to her, but it didn't make it any less annoying.

"How does Heatherstar seem?" Skypaw breathed, his eyes wide, "What are you guys going to do?" The white tom was restless, which was a bit unusual for him. She understood though. Even the most stoic of cats had to be excited to become an apprentice right? Her mind flashed to Thrushpaw though, and she amended that to most of the most stoic of cats.

"He seems cool, I guess," Mothpaw replied, "but he didn't say anything about what we were doing. He just said to be ready soon. What about you guys?" She felt her pelt prickling as she spoke. Was someone watching her? She casually glanced around, and nearly froze at what she saw. Thrushpaw was staring at her from the other side of the camp, his eyes narrowed. What was up with him? He seemed…suspicious? Of what? He must have been mad about her getting his father as a mentor. She shuddered slightly. What a crazy furball.

"Larkwing said she was taking me on a tour around the territory as soon as I was done here!" Silverpaw mewed, grinning and nudging Mothpaw, "I can't wait to see the forest part! We've never seen trees before!"

"I wish I was with you," Skypaw mewed, "Hawkclaw just said I'm going to be running endurance exercises. Boring!" Mothpaw nodded. A tour of the territory would be wonderful!

"I hope you all will listen to your mentors!" Their mother mewed as she padded up to them, smiling, "They'll teach you all you need to know!" Although she knew her mother would be right for almost everything, from what she did know, Mothpaw knew stuff that no leader would ever learn. She was a protector of time! However, she nodded. They had yet to practice battling or hunting in The Silver Forest, so she could certainly use some training.

"Are you going to be a warrior again?" Silverpaw mewed, blinking up at Ambershade. Mothpaw hadn't thought about that. Her mother would have to return to her warrior duties, right?

"Maybe…" Ambershade murmured, "Although with Kestrelfur moving in, I might stay a few moons longer to keep her company.

"Are you sure?" Mothpaw mewed, a bit sad at the thought of her mother not leaving the camp, "Won't it get boring?"

Ambershade smiled softly, brushing her tail along Mothpaw's flank, "I can still leave the camp. I would just…do so on a less regular basis. Don't worry about me." Mothpaw felt a warmth in her stomach at the interaction. She was going to miss sleeping alongside her mother.

"Mothpaw!" She heard a voice call from the camp entrance. It appeared that Heatherstar was ready for her.

"I'm sorry, that's my cue!" Mothpaw exclaimed, beginning to back away, grinning sheepishly.

"Good luck!" Ambershade purred, "Go make me proud!" Mothpaw nodded as her siblings echoed the good wishings. She turned and quickly made her way to the Clan leader, who was waiting for her, clearly impatient.

"So what are we doing?" Mothpaw chirped, nearly bouncing in excitement, "Hunting? Touring the territory? Fighting?" She looked up at Heatherstar, her eyes bright.

"Patience, Mothpaw. All in good time," Heatherstar replied evenly, "Now follow me. Try to act like an apprentice and not a kit. If you're going to be my apprentice you're going to be an example to follow, not to avoid." Mothpaw nodded, letting herself relax on the outside, although her mind was still bouncing with anticipation. As the light-brown tom began to exit the camp, she followed along, glancing over at her siblings, who were still busy talking with their mother. As they disappeared, she felt a bit of nervousness creep up on her. What was she going to be doing?

Mothpaw looked around in wonder as they began climbing through the moor. She had seen it all once before when she had ventured out as a kit, but it had been a long while. It was still quite impressive, and she could even see the lake from where they were! How impressive! She wondered where they were heading. Currently they were climbing up a very large hill. What could they do at the top of a hill? She scented the air, overwhelmed at how many new scents there were. Being in camp was so familiar, but being out on the moor felt…perfect.

Once they reached the top of the hill, Heatherstar turned his head to her, commanding, "Sit up here and stay still." Mothpaw obeyed, sitting in the center of the peak of the hill, looking at Heatherstar with intense curiosity. What was this?

"One thing you need to learn before we do anything is patience," Heatherstar mewed, looking out at the landscape. "Patience, and awareness. You need to know what you are dealing with at any time, and think your way through it. Now tell me, what is it you see here?"

Mothpaw thought for it for a moment, before softly replying, "I see water…? Trees?" She didn't know exactly what he wanted her to say. This wasn't what she had expected them to do on her first day.

"I suppose in the purely literal, you are right," Heatherstar mewed, "But I want you to see beyond. You must be aware. What do you see before you?" His voice remained as even as ever, and not a strand of hair on his pelt was ruffled. He seemed totally in control.

She wondered what he meant by beyond, but she didn't wait long. Surely if she couldn't figure it out, he would tell her right? "Umm…" She faltered, "Clan territory? The Gathering Island?"

He sighed, shaking his head, "You are closer, but you aren't there." He paused for a moment, his expression unreadable, before continuing, "I'm going to go for a short while. I'll leave you here for now. Take in your surroundings. See it all, hear it all, scent it all. I want a full report once I return. I want you to really look beyond." She wanted to protest, but he had already ran off.

She let out a soft growl at what had just occurred. This wasn't training! She desperately wanted to follow Heatherstar and do something, but she knew it would only end badly for her. Cursing under her breath, she looked out at the landscape. She hoped it wouldn't be too hard to figure out what Heatherstar wanted. She wouldn't be surprised if he made her stay until he figured it out. What did he want her to find?

What was beyond what she saw? What was her before her if not the territories or the Clans?

She really hoped he wouldn't be gone long.


End file.
